Ackermann Proud Of Bulls’ Character Despite Heavy All Blacks Defeat

Vodacom Bulls head coach Johan Ackermann praised his players for their character and effort despite suffering a heavy defeat to the All Blacks at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, insisting there were plenty of positives to take from their performance.

The Bulls endured a difficult opening 40 minutes as the All Blacks capitalised on their opportunities to establish a commanding 24-0 half-time lead. However, the home side showed considerably more fight after the break, with New Zealand edging the second half 26-19.

Ackermann admitted that the opening period was below the standard his side had hoped to produce, but he was encouraged by their response after the interval.

“I’m proud of the players and proud of the effort that they’ve put in,” Ackermann said.

“I think there were opportunities in the first half that we didn’t finish, but credit to the All Blacks. They capitalised on their opportunities and scored.

“So that’s the level of international rugby and part of the lessons we learned.”

The Bulls coach revealed that his half-time message was simple: show character and make the most of the opportunities being created.

“At half-time, we said, ‘Let’s show a bit of character. The opportunities are there.’ Then, you know, it was 26-19 in the second half, so it was a much better effort.”

Ackermann was particularly encouraged by the threat his side posed when they were able to retain possession and attack with ball in hand.

“We looked quite dangerous when we kept the ball in hand,” he said.

“Speaking to the All Blacks coaches afterwards, they said we really tested them, and they felt that there were opportunities that, had we finished them better, we could have put them under pressure.”

The defensive effort was also praised, although Ackermann acknowledged that the Bulls’ lack of full-contact preparation was exposed by the physicality of the All Blacks.

“Defensively, we worked really hard, but we could see we’re not there from a contact point of view. We fell off a few tackles,” he said.

“I think the character and the effort that went into the team throughout the 80 minutes was quite pleasing. We will take a lot of positives out of the game, but we also know that there’s a lot to work on.”

The set piece produced mixed results, with the Bulls showing flashes of quality but struggling for consistency throughout the contest.

“The set piece is something we pride ourselves on, but it was up and down, so we were not consistent in it,” Ackermann explained.

“There were really good scrums, there were some great lineouts, and we scored from a play we planned there with Ruan Vermaak. So there were positives, and then suddenly the next moment we’ll make a silly call or lose the ball.”

Ackermann said the lack of match conditioning was understandable given that the encounter represented the Bulls’ first full-contact outing.

“We lacked physicality, as this was our first full-contact game. We looked a little bit less ‘contact sharp’.”

With the Springboks set to face the All Blacks next weekend, Ackermann was also asked what advice he could offer the world champions after seeing the New Zealanders up close.

However, he believes the Boks will enter the contest in a far better state of preparation in the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry.

“To be fair, the Springboks are match-fit, and there are quality players. They’ve played together for a long time, and they’ve got some of the best heads in the world putting a plan together,” the Bulls head coach said.

“So I think the Springboks will be well prepared.”

Nevertheless, Ackermann believes the Bulls’ attacking approach highlighted an area the Springboks could potentially exploit against New Zealand.

“The Springboks will see that there are opportunities if you keep the ball in hand against the All Blacks. Hopefully, the Boks will take that.”